User Guide

PC2 Made Easy

23. Using the PC2 to Control External Slaves

All of the techniques you have learned in the previous tutorials can be applied to playing

an external keyboard or module instead of the internal PC2 sounds. There is really only

one parameter you need to set.

1. Start with Setup #128 Default Setup. Press the MIDI Transmit button. Set the channel

to the channel number that you wish to use to control your external slave.

2. Press the >> button. Set the Destination to MIDI. ThatÕs it! Now just edit any other

parameters you need to control your slave (such as setting the bank and program

change, controller settings, etc.).

When you set the Program parameter, for zones assigned to MIDI only, the Program

parameter will display External Program, since - of course - the PC2 doesnÕt know the

names of the programs on your external slave. But you will always see the program and

bank numbers.

There is one exception to this, however. If your slave is a General MIDI instrument, you

can set the PC2 to display the GM program names. In this case, press the Program

button, then press the >> button four times to get to the Pname Disp parameter and

change it to Gen. MIDI.

If you want to make a Setup where you layer PC2 sounds with external sounds, the

simplest way to is to set some zones to MIDI (to play the external slave) and other

zones to Local (to play the PC2). It is possible to have a zone set to Local+MIDI (and in

fact that is the default). In this case, one zone can play both the PC2 and external slave.

But keep in mind that since a zone can only send a single program change message, if

you want to layer a specific external sound with a specific PC2 sound, you would have

to edit your external synth so that program is stored at the same numbered location as

the one you are choosing for the PC2. (Or you can edit a PC2 program and save it into

the User Bank at the same numbered location you are using on your external synth Ð but

remember that if the external synth responds to the bank controller, it would have use

the same bank number as the PC2.)

One final thing. Typically, you will always use different MIDI channels for each zone, if

you want to play different sounds on different zones. But if for some reason, you need

to, you can use the same MIDI channel for a Local only zone as you use for a MIDI only

zone. Since the two zones send the MIDI information to only one place or the other, both

zones could be on the same MIDI channel and have different program change values (or

anything else) selected.